What are the sowing methods for goji berry? This article explains it all

        Seedling raising by direct sowing, that is, sexual propagation. It uses seeds to propagate seedlings. The advantage of this method is that a large number of seedlings can be raised in a short time, meeting the urgent need for seedlings in production, and it is low in cost and easy to master. The disadvantage is that the seedlings produced vary greatly, the superior traits of the mother tree cannot be maintained, and fruiting is late with poor quality. However, considering the large demand for seedlings in current production, although this method has disadvantages, it still has certain application value. Seed preparation: There are many varieties of goji berry, but Ningqi No. 1, Ningqi No. 2 and Damaye are three relatively good varieties. Therefore, in production, large fruits of the above superior varieties should be selected for seed extraction. Small fruits with mixed quality should not be used for seed production, to prevent reducing seed quality. Seed extraction: Extracting seeds from goji berry fruits can be divided into the following steps: ① Fruit soaking. If dried fruits are used for seed production, the dried fruits should be placed in water and soaked until the fruit skin swells and becomes easy to rot; if fresh fruits are used for seed production, soaking is not necessary. ② Crushing the fruit. Crush the soaked fruits or fresh fruits so that the seeds are completely separated from the pulp. ③ Washing. After crushing the fruits, add an appropriate amount of water and wash; pour off the water, juice, fruit skin and floating impurities such as empty and shriveled seeds. After several rounds of washing, what sinks to the bottom of the basin is plump seed. ④ Drying the seed. Spread the plump seeds out to dry in the sun; after drying, store them in a cool, dry place for later use. Generally, about 0.1 kg of seed can be obtained from each 1 kg of dried fruit. Sowing period: Goji berry sowing can be carried out in spring, summer and autumn, but in production more is sown in spring. After spring sowing, under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, the seeds germinate and emerge, and after the seedlings emerge they also have a longer growth period, so they can be lifted from the nursery and planted in autumn of the same year or the following spring. Goji berry seeds are small, with a 1000-grain weight of about 1 gram, and only 0.2 kg is needed per 667 sq m. Sowing methods: There are two types, the water sowing method and the dry sowing method. ① Water sowing method. When sowing, mix the seeds with 10 times their volume of fine sandy soil, then use a hoe to open sowing furrows 0.3-0.5 cm wide in the prepared nursery bed at a row spacing of 40 cm, and sow in drills along the furrows. After sowing, cover with soil about 0.3-0.5 cm thick, or do not cover with soil and press lightly with the foot so that the seeds are in close contact with the soil, then irrigate once with shallow flood irrigation; after 2-3 days, when the soil surface is not wet, irrigate again. Irrigate frequently before the seeds germinate and emerge to keep the soil surface moist, which is beneficial for seed germination, emergence and seedling growth. This method produces fast, uniform emergence with a high emergence rate and is simple to operate. ② Dry sowing method. Its difference from the water sowing method is that after sowing, soil is covered according to soil properties and soil moisture, with a thickness of 1-2 cm. For sandy soil with poor moisture, cover with soil more thickly; for clay soil with good moisture, cover with soil more thinly. After covering with soil, do not irrigate immediately. If after sowing the weather is dry, the soil moisture is poor, and the seeds do not sprout for a relatively long time, shallow irrigation with a small amount of water can also be used to promote seed germination and emergence. In order for the seeds to emerge early after sowing, the seeds can be pregerminated before sowing: mix 1 part seeds with 10 parts fine wet sand, stir well, and place indoors at about 20°C, cover with plastic film on top, spray water once a day, and maintain good temperature and humidity. Generally, when half of the seeds show white (germinate), sow them. When sowing in summer with suitable temperature and humidity, they can germinate and emerge after one week.